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A Luscombe Story By Jennifer Kimball 2019 was a year of productivity and surprises--I had recently graduated from an avionics technician program in Florida, and I was ready to move back up to Wisconsin. I sold my last plane (a Vans RV-4) before I started school, but now that I was no longer studying (or paying tuition), it was time to consider a new, slightly less expensive set of wings. Being in the market for an airplane is perhaps one of the most exciting things that life has to offer to us aviation-folk. The possibilities are seemingly endless, even with a tight budget. Vintage taildraggers and small light-sport/ultralight aircraft can often be had for the price of a nice used car (or a decent new one, depending on the condition and year among other things). I was looking at several options--an Ercoupe, a short-wing Piper, or perhaps a light homebuilt. It had to be something that didn't require much care and feeding, and aside from the typical vintage aircraft ADs (airworthiness directives) that occasionally need a going-over by a qualified mechanic, these types of planes are fairly easy to keep happy. I was just about to settle on a nice old Ercoupe when I spotted a freshly restored (finished in 2019) Luscombe 8A in a nearby hangar. I was actually looking at the 'Coupe that day when I first saw the Luscombe, which was painted red and cream in a scheme reminiscent of a Monocoupe and a Gee-Bee Racer mixed with some art deco lines. I didn't even consider a Luscombe in my search, and I began to wonder why. There was nothing wrong with it--it simply hadn't crossed my mind. I reasoned with myself that I'd be much happier in a lively taildragger than a rather pedestrian nosewheel airplane (don't get me wrong, I love Ercoupes). I've spent most of my pilot life flying various taildraggers from Cubs and Stearmans to Pittses and Vans RVs, so why not continue that tradition? Conveniently, I had my mechanic with me who noted the restoration work appeared very well done--he suggested that if I'm going to buy something old, buy something in mint condition. This one was in about as good of condition as I would be lucky to find around here, so I decided to go for it. The lack of a starter was a drawback, and the Continental A-65-8 65-hp engine was not a model able to accept a traditional starter, but I found a solution involving a DeWalt drill and a series of gears that happened to be allowed by the FAA for this aircraft. Problem solved. Not a big fan of propping--especially to get from the fuel farm back to the hangars after a flight. It's nostalgic and purists love it, but it's also a major inconvenience. I flew back to the airport where the Luscombe was located several weeks later with a friend in his family Cessna 206 to pick up my new bird. By then, the talented restoration specialists (a father son team) had finished some of the details such as the rigging, and had flown enough hours on the fresh engine for an oil change. It was as good as a factory new airplane. Taking off on the way to Kankakee in the 206 Enroute to pick up the Luscombe After the money was exchanged and the airplane was readied for flight, my friend and I prepared to hand prop the ~10.4 hour since major overhaul engine and fly the Luscombe home. I brought a handheld radio (the plane has no electrical system), an intercom, and some headsets. With no external antenna, I was nervous about how well I'd be able to communicate with the tower at our destination field, but I didn't have much of a choice. I was excited to get my beautiful new airplane home, but I wanted to make sure the flight would be uneventful. A happy Luscombe and an even happier new owner Having spent so much time pre-flighting, learning, and making sure I thoroughly knew and understood the aircraft, I had neglected to test the intercom. I tested the radio, but not the intercom. Too late--the engine was already running, I didn't want to make my poor friend prop it again, and we agreed to simply yell back and forth during the flight. We planned on landing at his family airstrip to pick up the culprit: a missing 9V battery for the intercom. How I neglected to put that in, I have no idea. We taxiied out, the wind was blowing at a steady 10 to 12 knots, gusting to about 18 or 19, but the little Luscombe had plenty of rudder and low-speed control authority to make dealing with these kinds of winds a breeze (no pun intended). The Continental purred along as I let the oil temperature move up off the peg before doing a thorough run up and magneto check. The Luscombe has no mixture control, just a throttle and a mag switch. When I did the mag check, I was impressed with how small the drops were on both the L and R, and the engine sounded perfect--it was a go-for-launch decision. I lined her up on the grass strip, which had some houses and trees on the other end but nothing too intimidating. I carefully advanced the throttle to full and was surprised at the acceleration that 65-hp engine was able to deliver. Tailwheel up... wing flying... gentle back pressure on the stick, and off she went. The handling was fantastic, harmonized, and responsive. The vertical speed indicator showed 550 fpm of climb rate--not bad for having two people, baggage, and full fuel aboard. The temperature was mid-cool, in the 10C/50F range, the sky was mostly clear, and the winds were blowing from the north. In fact, by the time we got to cruising altitude (all of about 2000' MSL/1200' above ground level), we noticed on ForeFlight that our ground speed was a blistering 30 knots at some point, while my airspeed indicator was reading in the 85 knot range. That's a 55 knot headwind. The flight to the private airstrip took about 2.2 hours, but it went by fast. I let my friend who is an experienced tailwheel pilot and Cessna 140 owner take over flying periodically, which he thoroughly enjoyed. The weather remained perfect (minus the stiff headwind) for the whole flight, and luckily the yelling and hand gestures (just like in the good old days) worked just fine as an intra-cockpit communication method. I didn't mind being stuck up in the air flying a 1939 Luscombe 8A on a beautiful day over the seemingly endless countryside. The flight took place the day of the ADS-B mandation, but being an aircraft built without an electrical system, my aircraft is exempt from the requirement. We navigated under the Class B shelf and veil of Chicago O'Hare International and spotted a beautiful Southwest 737 several thousand feet above us heading into KORD. It was a neat contrast to see such a modern jet flying overhead while I was living in 1939 flying low over the countryside. I felt a little bit like a time traveler. By the time we reached my friend's sub-2000' (but very nice) grass airstrip, the wind managed to pick up at surface level. The trusty app told us it was gusting 17-20 knots, and upon a low inspection pass, I noted the windsock agreed--and that it was about a 70 or more degree crosswind. With the way the Luscombe was handling, I wasn't too worried about crosswind corrections. It didn't take much muscle power to keep things aligned down short final. Touch down was soft and easy, and the controls remained effective all the way to the stop. It's important with tailwheel aircraft to "fly it to the chocks"--particularly on windy days, and I made sure to do just that. We went into the office on the airfield to grab a 9V battery, stuck it into the intercom box, and tested the system--it worked. A few tweaks of the squelch control and we were on our way to Janesville. My friend's dad took this photo as we departed the airstrip to Janesville About 10-11 miles out, I requested a radio check. All I heard in response was "I'm hearing some weak and unreadable transmission, whoever is trying to call, say again." Oh great, I said. My friend shrugged and suggested we try again in a few miles. After reviewing my light gun signals and trying again about 7 miles out, speaking as slowly and clearly as practicable, the response was somewhere along the lines of "welp, we can't really hear you but I got your call sign and report a 3 mile left base for runway 22." Good enough. No light gun necessary. The controller spotted my Luscombe well before I hit the 3 mile left base, cleared me to land before I could say anything (probably trying to minimize hearing my mind-numbing, migraine-inducing buzzing squeak heard on his end of the radio, which was caused by me tryhing to use a small handheld radio utilizing nothing but a rubber ducky antenna to communicate), and after an apologetic-sounding readback on my part, I landed the beautiful little Luscombe. After being cleared to taxi to parking (my radio worked a good deal better at close range, of course), I carefully positioned my controls with each turn in relative to the wind (climb into the wind, dive away from the wind), and mentioned how nice the ground handling was. Another plane with an undeserved "squirrely" reputation (probably caused by pilots not knowing how to use the heel brakes... in fact, it's best to leave them alone except for parking). It taxiied with ease all the way to its new T-hangar. Mission: success! Several "victory" photos later, it was time to hit the airport restaurant and celebrate, but not without making a to-do list. External antenna, starter, and fly as much as possible. Special thanks to Alex and Steve Koerner at Koerner aviation--they did a marvelous job restoring this aircraft to better-than-new condition. They've got tons of restoration and maintenance experience with all sorts of aircraft, so if you're in the midwest--they're the guys to go to. Another special thanks to my friend Michael and his Dad for helping out with bringing the Luscombe home. Jennifer Kimball
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